Super Mario Death Row

Intro
Super Mario Death Row is a short parody game about Mario that is going for execution.

Graphics
The game uses a lot of ripped-off Mario and his friends' artworks for the portraits. The rest of the pixel art looks custom-made and rushed at first glance, although it gives a unique look since it is meant to be funny. Characters look dumb with their dotted eye and unpolished look, some might even not be recognizable at all (I'm looking at you, Princess Peach). However, it's strange to see that Mario shrinks whenever he's facing north.

Story
As a game that lasts for about 15 minutes, there isn't much in terms of the story. Most dialogues came from the NPCs loitering around the castle, whether it's the mushrooms that act as castle guards or Mario's friends. Dialogues usually break the fourth wall with some jokes put in it. I found some of them to be hilarious, although I didn't get the others. The ones that I didn't understand might be part of an inside joke since the game was meant to be played by another person. I still have fun reading them though.

The Game
Gameplay
To be honest, I didn't know what to do when the game loaded for the first time. I thought that it broke or something since it didn't respond whenever I'm pressing the Z or Enter button. The implementation of this screen is clever though. I didn't expect that the game already started right away after the splash screen.

Most of the game will be spent talking to people. There are also two "easy" battles, one being optional. It was hilarious when I looked at the battle screen for the first time; the unusual look that the game gives just blew my expectation.



Problems
Mario's walking speed is very slow and there is no way to speed it up. Most dialogues are also written in full lowercase, although it might be alright in this case since the game doesn't mean to be taken seriously.

Pros:
- Nice humor

Cons:
- Some jokes can be hard to understand

Final Rating: 4/5
I didn't expect to get some laugh from playing Super Mario Death Row. The execution is simple, but it's full of fresh ideas. I like how the jokes aren't forced but are short enough to be put in a few sentences. However, most jokes don't make sense to me, especially with the boss battles. I know that they are just meant as an inside joke, but since I'm not the one who was meant to be playing the game, it makes sense that I didn't find them funny.